Thursday, June 5, 2008

I know that I shouldn't be stressed, but I am. Completely. Mary Grace had her first grade entrance exam this morning. Afterwards, the lady doing the assessment went to the counselor to make sure they didn't need anything else, and as they were walking out of the office they were whispering back and forth. The counselor walked over and told me they might be able to have a decision by tomorrow. MIGHT?!? Seriously, did she do that badly? She said that they wanted to make sure they had plenty of time to review her scores and give it the attention the Mary Grace deserved. I'm thinking, how hard can a first grade test be? How long can it possibly take to score her test? Why can't they tell me now? MG said that she had to write all of the words that she knows...okay, NOT her strong point, and it's MY fault! We have been so focused on reading and math, that writing got put on the back burner. I had her write words when we got home, not very pretty. They ran together, were spelled correctly, but all ran together like one big long word. Okay, I am going to go take a chill pill, and trust my daughter when she said, "I did good Mom. I read two stories and didn't even have to sound them out!" I am so proud of her! I did find it a little strange that they didn't check to see if she knew addition, subtraction, time, money, measurements, etc. The only "math" assessment was counting by 5's, 10's, and only to 50. That was a bit surprising.My chill pill: My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers. "He hath said...so that we may boldly say..." Heb. 13:5-6. This is what the Lord had to say to me during my quiet time as he spoke through Mr. Chambers. "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear-" I will not be haunted by apprehension. ...but I will remember God's say-so. I will be full of courage, like a child "bucking himself up" to reach the standard his father (mother) wants. The only way to get the dread taken out of us is to listen to God's say-so.Isn't that so true from today's situation. Mary Grace was like the child reaching for the standards mommy instilled in her from kindergarten this year. She was confident, strong and brave this morning. I, on the other hand, had dread and apprehension. I should not have dread nor apprehension in anything I do, because the Lord is my helper and he promises that "He will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Heb. 13:5. Now if that isn't a strong chill pill that shines prespective on things, nothing is. I just couldn't help but share what the Father who created me and loves me, showed me today.

Pure and undefiled religion before our God andFather is this:to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keeponeself unstained by the world. -James 1:27

Our Family

Ross, Lisa, Mary Grace, Hannah, Abigail, and Jonathan

Our Little Blessings

Mary Grace

Hannah

Abigail

Jonathan

Eosinophil

is the least common of the white blood cells. They make up 2-4% of the white blood count. Children with eosinophilic disease have increased numbers of eosinophils in their blood, GI tract, and/or organs. Produced in the bone marrow, eosinophils then migrate to tissues throughout the body. When a foreign substance (an allergen or parasite, for example) enters the body, lymphocytes and neutrophils (other types of white blood cells) release certain substances to attract eosinophils which release toxic substances killing the invader.